


Mistaken Exchange

by SummerRoses0612



Series: Prompts/Pairings [22]
Category: Black Widow (Movie 2020), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, DO NOT COPY, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Natasha Romanov, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Has Issues, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29956824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerRoses0612/pseuds/SummerRoses0612
Summary: Steve and Natasha have made it work despite the fact that every time they looked over their shoulders it felt like something new was coming after them. Then the misunderstanding hit.ORNatasha saw something that made her draw conclusions.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Series: Prompts/Pairings [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182707
Kudos: 18





	Mistaken Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request from WINTER SCARLETT. Sorry for the wait!

Natasha had never expected to fall in love, a voice that sounded suspiciously like the Madame screaming at her whenever she found herself getting attached. Steve had been the thing she had never seen coming, adorably shy when it came to personal matters but able to compartmentalize with the best of them. She tried tirelessly to set him up on dates, hoping that one would work out and simultaneously praying that it wouldn't. 

From the start she had been the one that hesitated, only falling a bit more in love with the amazing man that was pursuing her when he was patient and gentle with her in a way nobody had been before. 

They ended up together but Natasha's training wouldn't let her relax into the feeling of being cared for, the shoe waiting to drop right in her peripheral vision every time she tried to just allow herself to be in the moment. She faked the calm until she couldn't anymore, her heart shattering as she watched Lily, the one she had tried to set Steve up with, kiss Steve. 

Something in her shouted that there was something wrong there, that she was deliberately not seeing something, but she turned around and left anyways. She didn't allow herself to dwell, already planning how to most efficiently move her stuff out of Steve's apartment without having to talk to him. 

'She would be fine' said everyone ever who wasn't actually fine.

-

Steve had come back to the apartment to Natasha's stress baking, her chest clenching as she realized just how comfortable she had become with the blonde. 

"I have something that I need to tell you,"

The Captain looked determined, a look that didn't bode well for the denial that the Black Widow was trying to hide behind. 

She distracted him until he forgot what he was going to say, the sex somehow feeling the same despite everything that Natasha knew had changed in her fundamentally. 

'I just need more time,' 

Just another lie that she told herself to justify staying with the man that was cheating on her. Denial was something that Natasha was well equipped to handle but something inside her wouldn't let her acknowledge the fact that Steve was cheating on her despite the fact that she had seen it happen right in front of her. 

-

"Look, I need to talk to you,"

"I have a mission. Can it wait until I get back?"

"No, it can't. Natasha Li-"

"Sorry, I've got to leave right now. Call me later?"

-

Interactions became more and more stilted the longer Natasha delayed the inevitable but it didn't take more than a month for Steve to finally break.

"Lily kissed me in full view of the paparazzi because made a comment about not wanting to see my face in the newspaper anymore. I stopped her immediately and told her that I had a girlfriend. I'm so sorry that I outed our relationship to someone before discussing it with you!" 

Steve's words tripped over themselves with how fast he was talking, his tired eyes waiting to be condemned.

Natasha couldn't breathe as she went over the scene in her head again, picking up the clues she had refused to consider before. There had been cameras everywhere and Steve had gone completely still the moment Lily touched him even though it was only on the arm at first. He hadn't kissed back, just standing there with his eyes opened until she finally stepped back. He had been completely shocked, not in the way that you are when someone you like kisses you but when your brain has to take a break to understand what just happened.

She looked him in the eye for the first time since she had seen him kissing another woman, using her extensive training to make sure he was telling the truth. There was nothing in his body language that said he was scared of being discovered, only desperation and resignation. It took only a couple of moments for the pieces to fall into place. 

The Black Widow sobbed then, all her fear and denial finally releasing her as she realized just how tense she had been.

"I'm so sorry!" Steve said, rushing towards her to engulf her in his arms before stopping, his face saying clearly that he wasn't sure he was allowed to touch her anymore.

"I saw you guys kissing and I didn't even bother to question it. I thought that you were cheating on me so I ignored it and avoided you or anything about you until I couldn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you!" Natasha said between racking sobs, throwing herself into Steve's arms, and shaking when he held her close.

"I love you too. I would never do that to you and I'm so sorry that something I did was making you feel this way," Steve murmured apology after apology into her temple, kissing her forehead and rocking her until she finally got herself back under control. 

They silently decided to talk about it the next day, never going further than a couple of inches as they went through their night routine together. The simplicity and domesticity of it all had Natasha tearing up again, prompting another hug before she finished brushing her hair. They showered together, cleaning each other top to bottom with care. It wasn't sexual, just animal comfort and reassurance after the trying month they had had. 

Steve dried himself off roughly before gently rubbing the water from the spy's skin, picking her up and holding her on his hip when they were both as dry as they were going to get. The blonde laid Natasha on the bed lightly, eyes never leaving her face as he joined her. 

They slept wrapped around each other, sleeping peacefully and without nightmares for the first time in weeks. 

There were still several conversations that they needed to have but, in Steve's arms, it felt like she was safe.

* * *

_(Roseriley0612@gmail.com) If you want to give me a pairing/prompt to try either email me or comment. Hope you enjoy! -Rose_


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